This invention relates to a serum uric acid decreasing agent and a method for decreasing serum uric acid levels.
With changes in diet, gout has come to be regarded as a serious adult disease. It is known that the acute and intractable pain of gout is caused when uric acid excessively accumulates in the body and is deposited as calcium urate in the fingers and toes. Known methods for treating gout involve: 1) use of uric acid synthesis inhibitors to inhibit the accumulation of uric acid in the body; and 2) use of uric acid excretion promoters to accelerate the rapid excretion of uric acid accumulated in the body.
There is only one uric acid synthesis inhibitor (i.e., allopurinol) readily available today. On the other hand, probenecid, sulfinpyrazone and benzbromarone are known as uric acid excretion promoters. However, it is known that allopurinol should be employed with caution, since it induces some problems such as systemic hypersensitivity. Similarly, uric acid excretion promoters such as benzbromarone may produce an attack of gout, when used inappropriately.
On the other hand, interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is classified as an inflammatory cytokines, is a molecule which has various biological activities, for example, it can cause fever or headache and induce the formation of acute phase proteins such as CRP and fibrinogen in the liver [Hibi, M. et al., Interleukin-6, Meneki Yakuri (Immunological Pharmacology) 7(4):103, 1989; Taai, H. et al., IL-6 Sansei Saibo to sono Seiri Kassei no Tayosei (IL-6 Producing Cells and Multiplicity in their Physiological Activities), Rinsho Meneki (Clinical Immunology) 21(8):1225, 1989; Weber J., et al.: Phase I trial of subcutaneous interleukin-6 in patients with advanced malignancies, J. Clin. Oncology 11(3):499, 1993]. IL-6 also has an effect of increasing blood platelets and thus various clinical tests are now under way to make use of this effect.